Biggles in the Blue/plot
Chapter 1: Biggles is Surprised Air Commodore Raymond has a tricky problem for Biggles. A Norwegian yachtsman living in Jamaica, Christen Hagen had recently died. Going through his papers, the local police had found that he was none other than a wanted ex-Nazi Werner Wolff. Wolff was believed to have hidden away top secret blueprints of the latest Nazi secret weapons during the war. Worse, he had been in correspondence with Biggles' old enemy Erich von Stalhein, hinting that he would like to hand the documents over to him. Now Wolff had died and von Stalhein had been spotted in Kingston, Jamaica. Biggles must try to retrieve the documents before von Stalhein gets them. There is not much to go on--only a tracing of a pear shaped outline, perhaps an island, with a little rectangle on it. Chapter 2: Rumkeg Haven Taking the Sea Otter, Biggles and co. arrive at Kingston. They are surprised to see von Stalhein apparently taking his time, lounging by the poolside of his hotel. Biggles and Ginger next go to Rumkeg Haven, the residence of the late Werner Wolff. They are again surprised, or perhaps they ought not be, to find von Stalhein there, searching the place! To Biggles, the chance encounter has given the first round to von Stalhein. Previously he did not know Biggles was on the job. Now that he does, he would work more quickly or be more careful, especially as von Stalhein had casually warned them about snakes when he was leaving. Back in Kingston, Ginger and Biggles discover that the person by the poolside is not von Stalhein, but someone else disguised as him--obviously to mislead observers. They see a rather foppishly dressed man talk to this decoy. The waiter tells Biggles that's Napoleon Morgan, a gangster from Trinidad. So now it is clear that von Stalhein has accomplices. Chapter 3: An Egg Makes a Mystery Biggles and Ginger return to make a search of Rumkeg Haven but find nothing. Only a large egg appears strangely out of place in the study. Wolff clearly did not intend to eat it, but he did not blow out the contents like a collector would. At Ginger's suggestion, they call on Commander Evans, the neighbour. Evans is all enthusiasm about his hobby of ornithology. Although he knew Wolff only casually, the German had actually helped him by bringing information about birds, their migrations and haunts. Evans had been very interested in the scarlet flamingo, of which only two colonies remained, at Inagua and the more distant Andros. But Wolff had told him that he had found a third colony, an offshoot of Inagua. He had promised to get Evans an egg and take some photos. Biggles surprises Evans by telling him that Wolff had obtained an egg already. He would leave Evans the key so that he could collect it at his leisure. Before leaving, Biggles asks Evans about snakes in the area but Evans says he has never seen one. On Trinidad, however, there was a deadly snake known as the fer-de-lance. Chapter 4: Evans was Wrong Leaving Rumkeg Haven, Biggles and Ginger hear a cry and rush back. There is a snake! Evans had been impatient to collect his egg and had been bitten as he entered Wolff's study. Now the snake begins to attack Biggles and Ginger and only with difficulty is it finally driven away. Biggles and Ginger perform immediate first aid on Evans and summon an ambulance. The doctor tells them Evans has a good chance--they got to him in time. On the road back to town, Biggles and Ginger dirve past Napoleon Morgan, who greets them with a flourish. Biggles remembers--he comes from Trinidad, where snakes like the fer-de-lance are plentiful. Chapter 5: Stumped! The next morning, Biggles and co. perform an aerial reconnaissance. There is a large flamingo colony at Inagua but they fail to find Wolff's third, offshoot, colony. Back at Kingston, Ginger and Bertie follow up the lead on Wolff's offer to take photos of the flamingoes. From Evans in hospital, they learn that Wolff used a chemist named Johnston and call on him. He had not developed any films for Wolff recently, but he had developed some photos of flamingos, and he gives them a description of the customer--von Stalhein! He must have fould Wolff's film! Meanwhile Biggles and Algy have worse news. They have tried to search Wolff's yacht, the Vega. But von Stalhein and an asspciate named Boris Zorotov have checked out and the Vega is gone. Chapter 6: Closer Reconnaissance Two days are spent searching for the Vega from the air, but without success. However, Ginger opines that the lagoons on Inagua seemed to have changed shaped because of water from recent rains. One of them on the west side looked like Wolff's pear shaped tracing. The next day, Biggles and co. set out for Inagua and they spot a lagoon with a vague resemblance to the tracing. What's more, they can see a lump on the ground where the rectangle on Wolff's tracing is. Biggles lands on Man-of-War Bay. This time, Biggles, and not Algy, stays behind to guard the aircraft! Ginger goes to check out the lagoon, to the east. There is no sign of the Vega but there is only one place where it can be hidden--a clump of mangroves to the west. So Bertie and Algy go there to scout. Chapter 7: Ginger Goes Alone Ginger makes his way towards the lagoon. The going is difficult and he falls badly behind schedule. Then, to make things worse, he comes face to face with Napoleon Morgan. Morgan draws a razor knife and charges at him but Ginger has a gun in his hand which he fires instinctively while side-stepping. Morgan is injured and disarmed and Ginger forces him to walk away. Chapter 8: Success or Failure At the lagoon, Ginger discovers that the spot on the tracing matches a small hut. There is a used film wrapper. On the ground is freshly turned earth. But he is not equipped to dig and cannot see what is underneath. He spots a woman with a donkey, apparently stealing flamingo eggs. He tries to get back to Biggles but it begins to rain heavily and he shelters in the hut. Chapter 9: The Mangroves Algy and Bertie discover the Vega among the mangroves. Napoleon Morgan soon comes back and reports that he has been to the spot shown in the photos. He also exaggerates his encounter with Ginger. Morgan had been injured but he had "fixed" Ginger, he tells the others. Back at the Otter, Biggles is getting is getting worried by the deteriorating weather. Rather than risk damage, he sends Algy back to Jamaica in the Otter. He and Bertie would wait for Ginger. Chapter 10: Stalemate The weather improves the next morning and Biggles and Bertie set off to look for Ginger. Along the way they pass an almost deserted village. There is a woman living in one of the huts but she refuses to open the door and speak to them. They meet Ginger who takes them to the shack by the lagoon. Using sharpened stick, they dig out the freshly turned earth and discover ... nothing. Has von Stalhein already got the Wolff's papers? Ginger spots the German approaching with Zorotov and Morgan. To Biggles that's at least good news--it shows von Stalhein hasn't got the papers either. Von Stalhein tells Zorotov he knows about it from what Wolff had told him and he is just as surprised as Biggles to find the shack empty. Biggles sends them packing and they leave with ill grace. But who else could have taken the box. Who would come this way? Ginger recalls the woman stealing flamingo eggs. That must be the woman Biggles and Bertie saw at the deserted village! Chapter 11: Morgan Tries Again They find Susannah Shaw at the village trying, unsuccessfull, to beat a steel box open with an axe. Afraid to get in trouble, she tells Biggles the whole story--how she had seen a man (Wolff) arrive at the lagoon and bury the box, how he had come back time and again and then stopped coming. So she decided to take the box, thinking there might be treasure in it. She hands the box over when Biggles tells her it is government property. Biggles reassures her that she will not get into trouble. He pays her for her trouble. Biggles and co. carry the box towards Man-of-War Bay. They hear aircraft engines--Algu is returning for them. But then they hear gunfire. Biggles and Bertie rush ahead to see what is happening, leaving Ginger to guard the box. Trouble arrives, in the form of Morgan and this time he is armed and he shoots at Ginger. Ginger, taking cover behind the box, prepares to reply but his pistol jams! Chapter 12: Heavy Odds Biggles and Bertie arrive at the bay in time to see that Algy had landed and taken off again after having been fired upon by Zorotov and his gang. The Otter flies unsteadily and makes a hasty landing on a flat piece of ground about a mile away. Algy has been hit in the thigh by a bullet from Morgan. Biggles takes over the aircraft and sends Bertie back to help Ginger. The going is not easy for Bertie but he gets to Ginger in time to see that Morgan has charged at Ginger and the two are struggling on the ground. Bertie snaps an instinctive shot at Morgan which kills him. He then helps Ginger up and they make for the Otter. Chapter 13: A Close Finish Approaching the coast, Bertie and Ginger have a shock. Off shore there is a submarine, and it is sending out a dinghy full of men which is heading for them. Bertie and Ginger realise they can't get to the Otter before the men reach the shore and cut them off. In the meantime, the submarine's guns open up, trying to hit the Otter. Biggles executes a hasty take-off, barely avoiding the exploding shells. Flying overhead, Biggles drops a message: Ginger and Bertie are to drop the box in deep wter off the reef and then make for the deep end of the lagoon. It is a close finish. Pursued by the submarine's men, Ginger and Bertie sink the box and run back to the lagoon where they are picked up by the Otter. Chapter 14: The Case is Closed The Vega is subsequently found wrecked. Von Stalhein and Zorotov were presumbly picked up by the submarine. Although the authorities are naturally disappointed that the box had to be sunk, Rymond tacitly agrees with Biggles that the bottom of the sea is probably the best place for them. Evans is cheered when Ginger presents him with another egg, which he collected from Inagua for him, and Biggles kept his promise, recommending Susannah Shaw to be appointed to the job of guardian of the flamingoes, a post which her husband held before he died. Category:Plot summaries